Tom Bullock

Tom Bullock decided to trade the khaki clad masses and traffic of Washington DC for Charlotte in 2014. Before joining WFAE, Tom spent 15 years working for NPR. Over that time he served as everything from an intern to senior producer of NPR’s Election Unit. Tom also spent five years as the senior producer of NPR’s Foreign Desk where he produced and reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon among others. Tom is looking forward to finally convincing his young daughter, Charlotte, that her new hometown was not, in fact, named after her.

When you are carving up the state into new political districts, you don't do it willy-nilly. Especially when you have 28 state legislative seats ruled illegal racial gerrymanders and a federal court watching what you do.

Thursday, we learned just what criteria state lawmakers are going to use in this court ordered round of redistricting.

It's been nearly eight weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that 28 state legislative districts in North Carolina were illegal racial gerrymanders. The political maps, the court said, must be redrawn.

On Wednesday, a select group of state senators and representatives sat down to officially begin that process.

On Wednesday, members of the General Assembly will begin complying with an order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court - fix 28 state legislative districts which the high court found to be illegal racial gerrymanders.

A select group of state senators and representatives will start that process when they meet to discuss redistricting.

Wednesday afternoon, the North Carolina House is scheduled to debate a bill which would, in part, nearly end the need for concealed-carry permits for handguns. Ahead of that debate a group supporting the measure saw fit to publicly release the names, phone numbers and other information of four individuals trying to stop the gun bill.

North Carolina is now zero for three before the U.S. Supreme Court this year. Monday, the high court upheld a ruling which found that 28 state legislative districts are illegal racial gerrymanders.

The Supreme Court had already struck down North Carolina's voter ID law and found two congressional districts were also racial gerrymanders. After those earlier rulings the Republican leaders of the General Assembly criticized the court. This time there's a surprising claim of victory by those who helped draw the illegal districts.

For the second time in a seven-day span, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down an act of North Carolina's General Assembly.

On May 15th, it was the state's voter laws.

On Monday, in a 5-3 decision, the court upheld a ruling that two congressional districts were illegal racial gerrymanders. And this opinion may have implications for other North Carolina cases working their way through the courts.

Hoarding $70 million in Medicaid money that should be spent on patients while spending lavishly on CEO pay and luxury board retreats. These are just some of the findings laid out in a state audit of Cardinal Innovations Healthcare. The company says the spending is justified.

America's judicial system has been the target of a number of political attacks this year.

And not just from President Donald Trump questioning the legitimacy of some, quote "so-called" judges or saying he wants to break up the Federal appeals court which struck down his travel ban.

A new report by the left leaning Brennan Center for Justice finds Republican controlled legislatures across the country are targeting state courts and remaking them for potential political gain. They have tracked at least 41 such bills in 15 states and that's just since January 1 of this year.

Craft brewers lost an important political fight Tuesday. A committee in the North Carolina House voted to strip provisions from a bill which would allow local brewers to sell more of their own product without going through a middle man.

Arguably the most famous Democratic congressman to represent South Carolina's 5th district is one Frank Underwood.

But Underwood is a work of fiction, the lead character in the TV series House of Cards. And South Carolina's 5th Congressional District has been a Republican stronghold since 2010.

Still, there are three candidates looking to make life imitate fiction and flip the 5th back to the Democrats. They face their first challenge May 2 in a primary special election. On Monday, WFAE’s Tom Bullock focused on the Republican candidates. This story focuses on the Democratic candidates. Toms’ coverage includes a conversation with Morning Edition host Marshall Terry: